If you don’t wish to deal with stains on your sheets and clothes, massage creams may be the best choice for you. Like oils, lotions, and gels, massage creams allow a smooth glide while allowing you to provide deeper pressure if needed.
But creams don’t drip like oils and lotions, so you don’t have to worry about them running down your forearms or drip on the floor by accident. Also, you don’t need to use very much, which means you would save money from buying cream frequently.
However, creams often do not come in a pump, so you have to scoops it up with your fingers, which can be less convenient than other mediums. Choosing the right massage cream should be simple, so we narrowed it down to the market’s best.
Biotone Dual-Purpose Massage Creme
Main ingredients: Purified water, octyl palmitate, almond oil, emulsifying vegetable wax, arnica extract, ivy extract, aloe vera oil , kukui nut oil.
Pros: Provides very smooth glide. Spread over wide area of skin with little application compared to most lotions and oils. No scent. Not tested on animals.
Cons: Can get rancid if stored improperly.
Professional Massage Creme by Soma Silk
Main ingredients: Water, octyl palmitate, canola oil, stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, glyceryl monooleate, glycerin, triethanolamine , soybean oil, avocado 0il, dimethicone, sesame oil.
Pros: Provides very smooth glide without the greasy feeling. Highly emollient and no scent.
Cons: May have an odor if not stored properly.
Bon Vital Muscle Therapy Massage Crème
Main ingredients: Purified water, octyl palmitate, olive oil, cetearyl alcohol, polysorbate 60, glycerin, jojoba seed oil, grapeseed oil, sesame seed oil.
Pros: Provides very smooth glide on skin. May be better choice than oil for calloused skin. Excellent moisturizer. Lightly scented.
Cons: Can get rancid pretty quickly if not stored properly. Some may not prefer scent, even if it is “lightly scented.”
Soothing Touch Calming Cream
Main ingredients: Filtered water, stearic acid, stearyl alcohol, PEG-100 stearate, glyceryl stearate, Cucumber fruit extract, propylene glycol.
Pros: Provides very smooth glide on skin. Excellent moisturizer.
Cons: Can get slightly runny if exposed to warm temperatures compared to other brands. Can smell if stored improperly. More expensive than some leading brands.
MASSAGE FX Unscented Massage Cream
Main ingredients: Water, octyl palmitate, sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, stearic acid, cetearyl alcohol, sweet almond oil, triethanolamine.
Pros: Provides smooth glide over skin. Slightly scented.
Cons: Can smell if stored improperly. Some may not prefer the scent. Slight more expensive than some leading brands.
Nick Ng, BA
Nick Ng is the editor of Massage & Fitness Jounal and the managing editor for My Neighborhood News Network.
An alumni from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in graphic communications, Nick had completed his massage therapy training at International Professional School of Bodywork in San Diego in 2014. In 2021, he earned an associate’s degree in journalism at Palomar College.
When he gets a chance, he enjoys weightlifting at the gym, salsa dancing, and exploring new areas in the Puget Sound area in Washington state.
